UKBA approves Nigerian securities to catch traffickers at London airports

After numerous meetings, the Home Office has given Nigeria the go-ahead to station at two of London’s busiest airports to catch traffickers and identify potential victims.

It comes after a 2016 Home Office report revealed that Nigeria was not meeting minimum standards, but was making “significant efforts” to eradicate trafficking.

In a bid to show commitment, Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) approached the UK with the proposition that “…Nigerian potential victims could be better identified by Nigerians…”

Under the agreement, deployed operatives will work with the UK Border Force at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and perform random profiling of passengers with an aim of identifying potential victims of trafficking and suspected traffickers.

It is unclear when these operatives will start to carry out the agreement.